REPLICA
by Ashi Altair
Summary: Rukia was surprised with what Ichigo did. Ichigo’s hugging her tightly that she can do nothing but hug him in return. She said, “Of course I won’t die,” and then, she smiled.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and the characters.**

**This is my first time writing a bleach fan fiction so please pardon me the slight mediocrity. And please REVIEW!!!**

**Thanks guys! ^^  
**

**REPLICA**

Rrriiinnnnggg…

Rukia's cellphone rang while she was walking in the corridor of their school. She ran immediately to find Ichigo. She asked everyone she met if they saw him. Finally, after a long run, she found him sleeping at the rooftop of the school building.

"Ichigo! There's a hollow near the park! Wake up," Rukia bellowed as she pulled Ichigo's right arm up.

"Uhhh… Rukia, will you please let me sleep here?" was the tired response of the young man with bright orange hair, reclining on the big and silver water tank of the school. It seems that Rukia noticed the man wasn't the true Ichigo.

"Kon, where is Ichigo?" Rukia asked harshly as she clutched his collar and looked at him straight in the face. "There is a hollow on the park!"

"Come on, Rukia. Uryuu's out there, ready to kill the hollows," he replied with a grin on his face.

"He is a Shinigami, Kon. He needs to go where the hollows are even if a Quincy is ready to kill the hollow!" Rukia shouted again, but now, her face turning fuchsia pink.

"Can't you get it, Rukia? Ichigo transformed to a Shinigami that's why I'm inside his body. Why don't you check the park? Maybe he's already there," the man, preferably Ichigo, said.

"Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that?" Rukia said as she released his collar and ran down the staircase.

There was a big explosion in the park that caught the very attention of Uryuu Ishida, a mysterious type of student, who is with the same class where Ichigo attends, while reading a book inside their room. He looked all over their classroom but, he saw no sign of the irritating student, Ichigo. Then, he smiled.

A man who looks like the man with Rukia earlier appeared from a shrub and slashed the monster causing the explosions on its face with his sword. When he landed on the floor, Rukia came panting while pulling the ears of the man earlier.

"Ichigo!" she shouted as she finally arrived beside him and let the other Ichigo go. "There you are. I thought you'll never sense the hollow here."

"What do you think of me?" he said as he looked at Rukia coldly then gave her an angry look.

Rukia tilted her head slightly to the right as a sign of bewilderment from Ichigo's look. "H-hey, I didn't mean to offend you, Ichigo."

Ichigo ignored Rukia and walked past her towards his body, being controlled by Kon, a modified soul. "Get out of my body, Kon."

"O-okay…" he replied with a slight shiver on his word. Ichigo really looks scary when he gives a look like that.

After a few seconds, Ichigo went inside his body and Kon, controlling Ichigo's body, went back to his own lion stuffed toy body.

"I'm going home," Ichigo said, still looking angry, as he walked away from them.

"What's his problem?" Rukia whispered. "Kon did anything happen before he transformed to a Shinigami?" she asked.

"Nothing," Kon replied.

"But, why is he like that? Did I offend him with what I said earlier?" Rukia whispered again.

"Maybe," Kon said. "Maybe he's tired of you, saying what he needs to do."

Rukia gave another puzzled look.

"Why don't you ask Ichigo yourself?" Kon suggested as he climbed up on Rukia's back.

"Let's go home," Rukia walked to the direction where Ichigo went.

Inoue saw Ichigo walking down the street, with both hands inserted in the pocket of his pants. That's unusual for Ichigo to do. When he goes home, both of his hands are swinging freely while walking.

"Ichigo!" Inoue called him and waved her right hand but Ichigo ignored her and continued walking. "What's with him?" Inoue wondered.

"Maybe he's in a bad mood, Inoue. Just ignore that guy," Tatsuki emerged from the house.

"Ah, Tatsuki. Are you sure Ichigo's alright?" Inoue asked her friend.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?"

"Huh?" Inoue asked.

"Inoue, I know you like Ichigo. Don't hide it from me! I'm your best friend," Tatsuki teased her. Actually, that's true. Inoue liked Ichigo since the day she found out that Ichigo is a Shinigami and all.

"Huh?" Inoue gasped while her face turning pink. Inoue's natural blush is very cute that even the other girls in the campus have a crush on her. "N-no. Of c-course n-not!" she yelled as she bowed her head to hide her face, now, almost color red.

Tatsuki laughed and laughed while Inoue is continuing to turn redder as time goes by. Without their knowledge, Ichigo was behind them waiting them to stop. Inoue sensed Ichigo by the time she raised her head.

"Ah, Tatsuki…" Inoue tried to calm Tatsuki down but, she continued to laugh. "Tatsuki, Ichigo's behind me," she whispered. At last, Tatsuki stopped laughing.

"Ichigo! N-nice to see you here. W-what do you want?" Tatsuki asked nervously, worrying that Ichigo heard their conversation about him, which, he actually did.

"H-have you seen Rukia?" Ichigo, not believing what he heard, asked.

"Rukia? Why? I thought you were with her all the time," Tatsuki answered.

"No. I lost her when I went out the classroom," Ichigo answered, now, he appeared to be in his normal mood.

"Uhm, Ichigo," Inoue called him with her fingers pinching the others. "Why…are you in a bad mood earlier?" she finally gained the courage to ask and sighed.

"Bad mood?" Ichigo looked surprised with Inoue's question. "I wasn't in a bad mood today."

Inoue glanced at Tatsuki and her eyes went back to Ichigo, "But, you passed by here earlier. We saw you looked angry and irritated."

"What? I don't know what you're saying Inoue. I'm with Chad a few minutes earlier. I haven't passed here yet except for now," Ichigo replied now, with a look of bewilderment too.

"Are you sure that you didn't pass by here, Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked.

"Where could Ichigo be?" Rukia asked herself as she walked down the street of Inoue's house.

"Maybe he's already at home," Kon suggested.

Rukia continued to walk and ignored what Kon said. Just as they passed Inoue's house, Kon immediately saw Ichigo inside.

"There he is!" Kon shouted as he jumped down from Rukia's back and ran inside the yard.

"Ichigo! Hey, Ichigo!" he shouted.

"Kon, stop it or someone will see you," Rukia warned him.

Kon followed her and returned to her back. Just before Rukia could knock, Inoue appeared before them.

"Rukia! Come in, Ichigo's inside waiting for you," she invited.

"What? Ichigo is waiting for me here?" Rukia asked.

"Actually he didn't intend to wait for you here. He said that's he's looking for you the whole time."

"He's looking for me? But we met at the park earlier, after he killed the hollow," Rukia explained.

Inoue opened the door of their living room and there sat Ichigo and Tatsuki on opposite sides of the table.

"Hey, Ichigo!" Kon hollered as he jumped down from Rukia's back. "Why are you like that earlier?!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Kon?" Ichigo asked, puzzled with Kon's approach.

"What am I talking about?!" Kon fumed. "You snubbed Rukia's feelings!"

"Snubbed?!" Ichigo yelled while Rukia, again, turned fuchsia pink.

"Kon, stop it!" Rukia yelled too. Inoue and Tatsuki were taken aback with their yelling.

"Excuse me. But, you're in Inoue's house," Tatsuki stopped them.

"Sorry," Rukia bowed as a sign of apology and she sat down a chair beside Ichigo.

"Now, tell me. What is Kon talking about, Rukia?" Ichigo sternly asked.

Rukia gave a sigh. "Ichigo if you don't remember what you did earlier, I'm gonna tell it to you," Rukia said as pulled Kon beside her when she caught him peeking under her skirt. "'Earlier, my cellphone rang indicating there's a hollow near. I searched the whole campus and found Kon – I thought that was you – sleeping at the rooftop. He told me you transformed into a Shinigami just before I came."

"Yes, that's right. I did that," Ichigo agreed.

"Now, I thought you –" Kon cleared his throat as a sign of disapproval of what Rukia said. "Fine," Rukia said to Kon. "Kon thought you're already at the park fighting the hollow so I dragged him with me…"

"But, I –" Ichigo tried to interfere.

"Then, we came at the park. You already got rid of the hollow. I praised you with your work –" Kon cleared his throat again. "Okay," Rukia stared at Kon. "I somewhat insulted you…" Rukia saw Ichigo look at her furiously. "But, actually, that wasn't an insult, Ichigo. It was a joke. I always do that to you," she defended herself.

"But, I didn't kill the hollow. The time I arrived at the park, the hollow is nowhere to be found," Ichigo said to them.

"You mean there's another Ichigo out there?" Tatsuki asked them.

Her question made Rukia think. "Maybe…but that's impossible," she said with a confused look on her face.

The next morning, Rukia, Ichigo, Inoue and Tatsuki had a meeting in their classroom. Their classmates looked at them suspiciously because of their positions: Ichigo is seated on his proper seat while Rukia, Inoue and Tatsuki surround him.

"Hey, look at Ichigo. He's very lucky with girls the past few days," one of his classmates whispered to his seatmate.

"Yeah, take note, he even got Tatsuki, I don't really believe she's a girl until I saw what Ichigo did to her," the other one agreed.

"What did you see, Miyazama?" his seatmate asked with a slight silly look.

"Ichigo got Tatsuki hooked to him. I mean, just look at them."

"He has Inoue too," one of their classmates joined in their conversation.

Ichigo seemed to notice their classmates are talking about him. "Hey, Rukia. Will you please go a little farther from me? They are talking about us," Ichigo implored.

"Ignore them, Ichigo. This is more important than the rumors about you," Rukia said to him firmly. Ichigo just sighed and they continued their conversation.

Before Uryuu came inside the classroom, he immediately saw Ichigo surrounded by three ladies. He decided not to go inside first and take a stroll. "Hmmp… Ichigo, what do you think you're doing?" he murmured.

At the cafeteria of the school, Inoue saw Ichigo eating his lunch alone on one corner of the hall. She decided to eat beside him but Ichigo just ignored her and continued with his food.

"Uhm, Ichigo, can I sit beside you?" Inoue asked nervously. She's thinking if this is the real Ichigo or not. His attitude seems odd. Ichigo did not answer her instead; he stared at a student, who is bullied by some students during dismissal, standing at the end of the line. There was silence for a time then Inoue opened up a conversation. "Ichigo, why are you staring at that student?" she asked. Still, Ichigo did not answer her. "Are you planning to stop the bullies later at dismissal?" she tried again but, there was no response. After a few persuasions, Inoue gave up and stood. "I'm finished. See you later at my house…" she started. "Ten o'clock in the evening," she said with a silly giggle as she walked away from him.

Ichigo stopped eating and stared at Inoue, walking away from him.

At dismissal time, the four of them met in front of the school building. Rukia and Ichigo, as always, were together when they arrived. After fifteen minutes, Inoue arrived at last.

"Inoue, where have you been?" Tatsuki asked. Obviously, she's very bored from waiting for her.

"Sorry, Ms. Yukimura asked us to help her with the records," Inoue apologized.

"So, what are we going to do?" Tatsuki asked.

"Have you seen Ichigo inside the campus acting strangely?" Rukia asked.

"Uhm…" Tatsuki thought for a while. "Yes…actually, I saw him bully some freshmen on the junior high school department earlier," she said as she looked at Ichigo.

"W-what?! I was with Rukia all the time! And, I don't go to the junior high school department!" Ichigo shouted defensively; sweat drop by drop falling from his forehead, obviously feeling uneasy especially when he feels Inoue is giving him a puzzled look.

"Ichigo, don't be so nervous! We know it wasn't you," Rukia gave him a friendly pat on his back but with some kind of affection hidden in it.

"Hey, when I come to think of it, I met an Ichigo in the cafeteria when it was lunch time," Inoue said. It wasn't that heavy to catch all of their attention but because of the 'an Ichigo' expression, the three of them gave a puzzled look to her, especially Ichigo, who really became very sweaty this day. "Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked as if she was a suspect in a big murder case.

"What did you say, Inoue?" Rukia asked, still puzzled of her statement.

"I saw Ichigo at the cafeteria," Inoue answered plainly.

"No. You said: 'I met _an Ichigo_ in the cafeteria when it was lunch time'." Tatsuki said as she tried to imitate Inoue's voice and intonation.

"Oh…I get it. You wonder why I said 'an Ichigo', right?" Inoue raised her forefinger up. "That's because there are two Ichigos walking on earth. When there are two things of the same kind, you add an article 'a' or 'an', am I right?" she said.

"Yeah, right. But, you shouldn't add it on a person's name," Tatsuki lectured her.

"Sorry…" Inoue apologized.

"What did that Ichigo do?" Rukia asked her.

"Nothing… He just ate peacefully beside me, not talking to me, and staring at the student bullied by some third years during dismissal," Inoue stated.

"Ichigo is that you?" Rukia looked at him. She noticed Ichigo was sweating too much. "I wasn't with you during lunch time." Ichigo did not answer Rukia instead; he stared at Inoue nervously. "Uhm, Ichigo. Ichigo?" Rukia waved her hands in front of Ichigo's face to wake him up.

"Huh? What?" Ichigo finally came back to the real world.

"Are you with Inoue when it was lunch time?" Rukia repeated her question.

"Uhm…yes," Ichigo answered plainly, as he stared at Inoue again. "But we weren't in the cafeteria," he continued as he stopped staring at Inoue.

"But, after I ate in the cafeteria, I went straight back to our classroom, Ichigo," Inoue said.

"Stop lying, Inoue!" Ichigo shouted at her with fist clutched in front of Inoue's face.

Everyone was shocked of what Ichigo did. Even the passersby looked at him. Rukia pulled Ichigo to a dark corner of the building with Tatsuki and Inoue following them. "What's your problem, Ichigo?!" Rukia yelled at him.

"Inoue is lying to you!" Ichigo shouted again. "She pulled me upstairs to the rooftop!" Ichigo said. "We weren't in the cafeteria. She…she…she…" Ichigo couldn't continue what he'll say. Maybe he thought that Inoue is lying because she doesn't want the others to know what happened.

"What? She…?" Rukia asked waiting for Ichigo to continue.

"Uh…n-nothing. It's nothing. Never mind," Ichigo bowed his head and walked away. "I'm going home," he said.

"Hey, Ichigo!" Rukia tried to stop him.

"Inoue, tell me the truth. What is Ichigo talking about?" Rukia asked when Ichigo was too far for him to hear what are they talking about.

"I-I don't know, Rukia. I'm telling the truth. I saw him at the cafeteria and that's all," Inoue answered. "But, I noticed he's acting strangely since lunch. Maybe it has something to do with what I said," she added.

"Inoue, tell me. Did you tell Ichigo what you feel?" Tatsuki asked her. Inoue gave her a confused look. "Don't tell me you told Ichigo you like him very much! Inoue, Inoue…you shouldn't do that. Guys should be the one who approach a girl," Tatsuki said.

"But, Tatsuki, I didn't tell him anything like that! And I don't like him very much!" Inoue defensively said.

"Inoue, you like Ichigo?" Rukia asked her.

"Huh?" Inoue turned pink. "No. Of course not, Rukia."

"But what made him act like that?" Tatsuki asked herself. "Anyway, what did you tell him?"

"Oh, that. I told the Ichigo I met to go meet me in my house at ten o'clock later," she recalled.

When Ichigo passed by Inoue's house, he suddenly felt his heart beat faster that it would probably explode if it did not stop. He ran away from it to stop his heart from beating that fast. Even if he thinks of different things: his schoolwork, projects, hollows, what happened earlier between them and Inoue continues to flash through his mind.

_Ichigo was walking in the corridor alone, searching for Rukia when Inoue grabbed his arm and pulled him to the rooftop._

"_Inoue, what's the problem?" Ichigo asked. "Why did you bring me here?"_

_Inoue did not answer but instead, she walked near Ichigo. As she was walking towards Ichigo, she pulled a stiletto from her back._

"_Hey, what are you going to do with that?" Ichigo asked as he kept distance with Inoue. "H-hey, keep it. That's dangerous."_

_Inoue did not listen to him. When she was tired of waiting for Ichigo to stop, she ran towards him with the stiletto in front, pointing to Ichigo. Just before the stiletto would pierce him, he pushed Inoue hard that she hit her back to the brick wall. Ichigo hurriedly downstairs and went back to the room._

"What?!" Tatsuki and Rukia both shrieked.

"W-why did you do that?" Tatsuki asked her. "If 'twas the fake one, what if it went to your house and do something to you?"

"I just thought if I'm gonna ask Ichigo at dismissal time if he remembers what I told him at lunch, then, the true Ichigo was with me that time," Inoue explained to them. "And, if it's the fake one, I can take them down."

"If that was just it, Ichigo wouldn't be that angry to you," Rukia said to her. "Are you sure that's all?"

Inoue nodded as a sign of affirmation. Tatsuki took a deep breath and sighed, "Rukia, I think we should go home now. I think you should confront Ichigo about that thing Inoue said to him."

"Okay. See you tomorrow," Rukia waved her hand as they go in different directions. "Hey!" Rukia called them. "This is where Inoue's house is," Rukia pointed to her direction.

"We're going to Tatsuki's house first," Inoue, informed her.

Rukia continued to walk back home, still wondering what she'll tell Ichigo.

Rukia tiptoed inside Ichigo's house to his room. She found Ichigo sleeping on his bed then, Kon jumped from Rukia's bag and climbed up on Ichigo's bed.

"Kon, don't wake him up," Rukia warned him. "Maybe he's still stressed out with the things that happened."

"Hey, Ichigo wouldn't be like that," Kon said.

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked Kon as she went inside the cabinet to change her clothes.

"I mean: he won't be like this if Inoue just told him to visit her at ten o'clock in the evening," Kon explained.

"Really?" Rukia asked as she opened the cabinet door and sat on Ichigo's bedside.

"In fact, as far as I know Ichigo, he's a strong personality," Kon said.

Without their knowledge, Ichigo is listening to their conversation, just pretending to be sleeping. After he had heard enough, he opened his eyes and saw Rukia and Kon staring at him straight at the face.

"H-hey!" Ichigo shrieked. He stood up from his bed and walked away from Rukia giving her a fierce look. "W-what are you planning to do?"

"Calm down, Ichigo. It's me, Rukia. This is Kon," she walked towards him to calm him down but Ichigo pushed her away, making Rukia stumble down Ichigo's bed. "What's your problem, Ichigo?"

"S-sorry, Rukia," Ichigo said as he helped Rukia stand up. "I-I didn't mean to push you away like that." Ichigo noticed Kon. "Hey, you," Ichigo called Kon. "Bring us drinks. I should repay Rukia with what I did," he ordered.

"But, what if one of your sisters or your father saw me?" Kon asked.

"Father's not here until tomorrow night. My sisters are on an educational trip," Ichigo explained.

Kon opened the door and went to the kitchen.

"Something's wrong with Ichigo today," Kon said to himself. He opened the refrigerator and saw two soda cans. He used a stool to get it. On his way back the room, Kon heard Rukia scream. He threw the cans away and ran hurriedly to the room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a hollow, with about eight tentacles, each end of it is pointed sharp, about to pierce Rukia. "Rukia!" he shouted.

"Kon, go away! Find the true Ichigo, hurry up!" Rukia ordered him.

"B-but how about you?"

"Don't worry about me, just find Ichigo!" Rukia shouted. The hollow's tentacles squeezed Rukia's tiny body. "GO!" she yelled.

Kon went out of the house. When he saw Uryuu walking in the park, he immediately called him. "Uryuu!" he yelled, not minding if other people can see or hear him.

"Huh?" Uryuu looked at the direction of the voice. He saw Kon standing in front a tree. "You're the modified soul that takes care of Ichigo's body when he's a Shinigami, right?"

"Enough questions. Follow me. A hollow caught Rukia and is going to kill her in any minute she'll be defenseless," Kon shouted to him.

"What?!" Uryuu was perplexed with what Kon said. He followed Kon inside the house. "But, I didn't feel any hollow around. Where is she?"

"At Ichigo's house," Kon replied. "Hurry up!"

"Where is Ichigo?" Uryuu asked as he picked Kon up and ran faster.

"I don't know," Kon replied. "We thought he's the one sleeping in the room. When I went back from the kitchen, I saw the hollow holding Rukia ready to kill her," Kon explained.

Sado Yasutora, a large brunette guy, stood by the gate of the school. He saw Ichigo in a Shinigami form, standing behind a tree, staring at the cloudless sky.

"Ichigo," Sado called as he approached Ichigo. "Do you feel a hollow around?" he inquired.

"Uh, yes. But, I don't know why he's still not appearing before me," he answered with a worried look on his face.

"I thought you already went home," Sado said.

"Yes. But on my way, I saw a hollow in this direction," Ichigo answered.

"But, how about Rukia?" Sado asked.

"She can take care of herself."

"Somebody told me you shouted at Inoue earlier," Sado notified him. "Why?"

"Chad, don't tell this to anybody, okay?" Ichigo asked him to keep it a secret. Sado nodded as a sign of agreement. "Inoue tried to kill me," he went straight to the point.

"What?!" Chad was stunned that he seemed to jump a few millimeters.

"Yes, she did."

"But, Inoue wouldn't do such a thing," Chad said. "Maybe someone—or something—copied her appearance and tried to kill you."

Ichigo remembered that someone is also copying his appearance. He thought maybe Chad is right. But who would try to kill him? And, why would that person use Inoue's face? Those are the questions running in his mind. He then decided to go back to his house and tell Rukia what he thought.

"Ichigo, where are you going?" Sado asked. "I thought you're waiting for the hollow to appear."

"The hollow isn't here anymore. I don't know where. But for the mean time, I'm going to tell Rukia what I summed up," Ichigo answered as he ran away from Chad.

As soon as Uryuu and Kon arrived at Ichigo's house, they heard Rukia scream in agony. Uryuu went inside and left Kon at the front door to wait for Ichigo.

"Ichigo's room is at the second floor!" Kon directed.

Uryuu hurriedly ran upstairs. When he opened the door of Ichigo's room, he saw Rukia sitting on the bedside while the hollow is opening its big orifice to swallow up Rukia's soul with her fake body. He used his arrow to kill the hollow but it just deflected it with one of its tentacles. Uryuu tried again. But, it just deflected his attack again. After five tries or so, the hollow got irritated and turned his attention to Uryuu. Uryuu ran outside to avoid wrecking Ichigo's house.

Ichigo arrived at his house and saw Uryuu, badly injured, fighting against a hollow.

"Uryuu! What happened?" Ichigo shouted.

"This hollow tried to kill Rukia," Uryuu said as he continued to shoot the hollow. "He pretended to be you."

Ichigo knew it. A hollow might be the one copying his and Inoue's figure. But, how? How come they did not sense the hollow? Without any ado, Ichigo jumped off and tried to slash the hollow into two but his sword just penetrated its body leaving no wounds.

"Uryuu, keep distance with him!" Ichigo shouted.

Uryuu backed off, "Have you found out anything?" he asked.

"No. But I'm sure he's the one imitating us," Ichigo stated.

"Us? Who else did he imitate except you?"

"Inoue," Ichigo answered plainly. "That might be the hollow that copied Inoue's form and tried to kill me. And, there's another hollow like him who, copied my form the same time that hollow copied Inoue."

"So, what should we do?" Uryuu asked.

Ichigo smiled as if he has a plan, "I don't know," he finally said. He did it to ease the tension around. "There were too many things that happened today. I haven't thought of a plan yet. And, in fact, I just found that out when I came here."

"What?!" Uryuu shrieked.

"Where's Rukia?" Ichigo finally remembered her.

"Inside. Tied by the hollow, inside your bedroom," Uryuu said.

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know. Ask your mod-soul. He's the one who asked help."

"Kon! Fetch Rukia inside!" Ichigo ordered Kon, hiding behind an electric post.

Kon hurriedly went inside to get Rukia. As he opened the door of Ichigo's room, he saw Rukia unconscious on Ichigo's bed still, with the rope the hollow tied. "Rukia!" Kon called as he went near Rukia. "Wake up!" Kon shook her continuously so that she'll awaken. But, even if how hard he tried, Rukia just won't wake up. He checked if Rukia is still breathing. Fortunately, she's still alive. It seems that the hollow did something to her to stop her from waking up.

"Why aren't they here yet?" Ichigo asked himself.

"Why don't you check them?" Uryuu suggested.

"How about the hollow?"

"I'll take care of it."

When Ichigo was about to go inside, the hollow whipped Ichigo with one of its tentacles.

"You cannot escape, Ichigo Kurosaki!" the hollow shouted.

It's the first time the hollow talked to them.

"You know me?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course. All of us know you," the hollow answered.

"All the hollows?"

"You're the one who made the Menos Grande retreat," the hollow answered, not in relation with Ichigo's question. "That made you notorious for us hollows."

"That's why you want to kill me?"

"Yes. That's also why the hollows of our kind went out; just to kill you."

"Hollows of _your _kind?"

"Burakumin," the hollow answered.

"You mean outcast?"

"Yes. We are considered outcasts for the other hollows."

When the hollow was distracted because of Ichigo, Uryuu tried again to kill him with his arrow. This time, the hollow was affected by Uryuu's attack.

"Uryuu," Ichigo shouted. "What did you do to hurt him?"

"I attacked him with my arrow, my _normal_ strength. I don't know why he's affected but it's a good sign." Uryuu tried again with another attack but the hollow, seeming that he gained enough power again, deflected the attack. "What the-?"

"Stop!" Rukia shouted just before Uryuu could throw another attack. "If you released that, he will just deflect it again." Rukia explained.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called as he approached Rukia. "What happened to you?" he asked as he guided Rukia behind Uryuu.

"That Burakumin used his poison to me," Rukia said. "I can still feel it running through my veins."

"Is it deadly?"

"That's why it's called poison, isn't it?" Rukia joked.

"Do you know how to kill this Burakumin?" Uryuu asked.

Rukia said no. "Only Kisuke knows how to get rid of that thing."

When Rukia was finished talking, Kisuke and his companions came.

"Kisuke?!" Rukia called.

"I heard you mention my name. That's why I came," Kisuke, a guy with a faded brown hair and beard, dressed with a somewhat green traditional kimono, said.

"How can we kill this hollow?" Uryuu asked.

"You cannot kill that if its counterpart isn't with him," Kisuke explained. "One of you should find the other half of this Burakumin."

"Does the other one look like this?" Ichigo inquired.

"Yes. All of them look the same even if they have different gender."

"You mean there is a girl Burakumin?"

"Yes. And that one is on Inoue's house."

"Aaahhh!" Inoue shouted as soon as she arrived at her house. There is a Burakumin in front of her door.

Ichigo, carrying Rukia in his back, heard Inoue's scream and ran as fast as he can. When he arrived at Inoue's house, he saw the Burakumin nearly swallowing Inoue. He placed Rukia in a corner and grabbed Inoue from the hollow's tentacle.

"Ichigo, I'm glad you're here," Inoue cried. "I thought I'm gonna die," she continued.

"Of course not. I won't let that hollow kill you, Inoue," Ichigo said to calm her down.

"D-do you know what that is?" Inoue asked while her whole body is quivering.

"That is a Burakumin. I don't know the whole thing about it but the only thing I'm sure is I should get rid of it together with its twin," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo," Rukia muttered.

Ichigo seemed to hear Rukia's call, "Huh?"

"You should…unite the twins…for you to kill them," Rukia said gently.

Ichigo carried Rukia in his back, "Inoue, go to my house. Uryuu is there. Help him stop the other Burakumin to move," he commanded.

"But how about that one?" Inoue asked.

"I'll make it follow me," Ichigo said.

Inoue smiled and ran as fast as she could.

"Rukia, hold on. Tell me what I should do," Ichigo said. Rukia did not answer Ichigo. "Rukia," Ichigo called her. "Rukia," he called again, not leaving his eyes on the hollow. He did not notice that Rukia fell asleep while he's talking to Inoue. "Rukia," he called again. This time, Ichigo looked back at Rukia. "Rukia! Wake up, don't sleep yet!" he shouted as he placed Rukia down on the floor. He tried everything to wake her up but Rukia remained unconscious. The hollow noticed that Rukia isn't moving. He decided to eat her first before finishing Ichigo. Ichigo sliced the hollow's tentacle just before it could grab Rukia. He carried Rukia and ran as fast as he could towards his house. The hollow followed them. Ichigo couldn't think for a good plan. He just ran and ran until he reached his house and saw Uryuu badly injured.

"Ichigo!" Inoue called. "Hurry up, the hollow is about to eat Uryuu!"

Ichigo gave Rukia to Kisuke. "What should we do to kill the Burakumin?"

"You should make the two of them be one," Kisuke explained as Ichigo handed Rukia to him.

"How?"

"At least one of them touches the other."

"You mean I should just make them touch each other then they'll unite?"

"Yes. And that's when you should kill them. When they are in the process of uniting."

"But how can I kill it? Where should I aim?"

"Where you aim when you kill the other hollows."

The two Burakumin are identical. One cannot tell which is which except if you are used to seeing Burakumin everyday. But, even if they are identical, there is something different about them: the female equivalent of the Burakumin is always bigger in size than that of the male. The male Burakumin recovered from Inoue and Uryuu's attacks.

"Uryuu! Inoue!" Ichigo called. "Make the male Burakumin touch the female one."

"But which is the male?" Uryuu asked as he stood up and started attacking again.

"The one you're fighting against." Ichigo shouted. "We should make the two unite for us to kill them!"

Uryuu attacked the male hollow and ran towards Ichigo. The male hollow's tentacles nearly caught Uryuu but he evaded it.

"Uryuu!" Ichigo called as he ran towards him. "I'll use myself as bait! See to it that no one is around," Ichigo commanded him.

"He's acting as hero again," he said to himself. Uryuu hates Ichigo especially when he acts as a leader but he still followed him. "Follow me," he said to Kisuke. Uryuu brought them to a safe place and watched Ichigo as he fights with the two hollows.

"Ichigo…" Rukia finally woke up. "Where is he?"

"Rukia, Ichigo is fighting the two hollows," Inoue explained as she helped her sit down.

"What?" Rukia was stunned that she nearly stood up but her body was too weak because of the poison. Her face is pale and her lips became bluish. "I'll help him," she said as she forced herself to stand up. Before Rukia could go to Ichigo, a strong wind blew her back to them. "What's that?" She stood up and looked where Ichigo is. She saw the two hollows uniting while Ichigo is watching at the roof of their house. "Look," she called them. "Ichigo's doing it."

All of them stood up and watched the two hollows unite.

"Ichigo!" Kisuke called. "Don't let them unite completely. They'll be more powerful when that happens."

Ichigo nodded, jumped down and slashed the combining hollow. As soon as he slashed it, he ran as fast as he could, away from the hollow. At last, Ichigo killed the Burakumin. Inoue removed the poison inside Rukia's body and cured Uryuu's wounds too.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called. "Are you alright?" Ichigo worriedly asked.

"I'm fine now. Thanks to Inoue," Rukia answered and smiled.

Ichigo took a deep breath and shouted, "Tell me what went inside your mind and you didn't call me when that hollow attacked you?!"

"Do I really need to call you? I have my own power, Ichigo. I can take that hollow down if only I had time!" she boasted. "And, I asked Kon to find you!"

"But you didn't have time! It's a good thing Kon is there and found Uryuu."

"Of course I didn't have time! That hollow pretended to be you! How can I know?!"

Ichigo can't think of anything to say anymore. Instead of shouting again, he hugged Rukia, "I thought I'm gonna lose you," he said. "You made me worried, you know."

Rukia was surprised with what Ichigo did. Ichigo's hugging her tightly that she can do nothing but hug him in return. She said, "Of course I won't die," and then, she smiled.


End file.
